Farmers across the area are dealing with a lack of rain as they cut hay this week. / Kait Vosswinkel/The Reporter

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The Reporter

Farmers and produce growers like Jane Gamble of Prairieview Farms in Mount Calvary are looking to the skies for some relief from the early season drought-like weather.

The Gambles operate a 72-acre farm and sell fresh-picked vegetables, like heads of curly-leafed savoy cabbage, at the Fond du Lac Farmer's market.

"We started watering about three weeks ago because a lot of the plants we put in needed water immediately. I can't even pull the weeds out of my flower beds because the ground is like concrete," she said.

It's a concern for crops anytime the area is hit with an extended dry spell, but it's not time to panic yet, said Mike Rankin, crops and soils agent for the University of Wisconsin Extension, Fond du Lac County.

"Right now a lot of farmers are harvesting their second crop of alfalfa and it looks pretty good, but if we don't get rain here quick the third cutting is at risk," he said.

With the season still early the plants are smaller and for the time being don't need as much water as mid-summer to late season crops, Rankin said.

"The fields got enough rain to get things going. One advantage of early dry weather is that plants seek out moisture and grow a deeper root system," he said.

Meteorologist Rusty Kapela from the National Weather Service in Sullivan said there is hope for rain in the region as early as to-night as several storm systems move through the state. Whether or not they hit hard in Fond du Lac or produce intermittent showers is anyone's guess.

"There's a chance of showers and storms every day and night through next Wednesday but we can't say they are likely for Fond du Lac on any day. So my recommendation is for people to keep on watering their plants," he said.

He's reporting that a drought assessment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture puts the southern part of the state in an "abnormally dry period" category. Fond du Lac does not yet fall under that condition.

Produce on Michael Flaherty's 3-acre farm near Fond du Lac was holding it's own until now. Big bunches of beets, onions and garlic are requiring daily watering to make it to market.

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"I started two days ago and it takes me all day to water so I can't do anything else," Flaherty said.

A new study by a climate group says Minnesota and Wisconsin are among the fastest-warming states in the country since 1970.

Climate Central says Minnesota ranks third for the period from 1970 to 2011, warming by an average of 0.62 degrees per decade. Wisconsin is fourth, warming by an average of 0.61 per decade.

The group, which advocates for lower carbon emissions, says, Minnesota's average temperature rose 0.23 per decade over the past 100 years, placing the state ninth in the country. Wisconsin is 16th, warming an average 0.18 per decade, according to the Associated Press.

A big factor in the warming trend is said to be a lack of significantly cold winters. Larry Mielke, local weather observer for the National Weather Service, said that the 2011-12 snowfall for Fond du Lac was 7.7 inches below normal.

So far this year we've had 12.92 inches of rain, still 1.32 inches above normal.